The invention of stringed instruments automatically required the invention of string tensioning devices for tuning the instrument. The conventional tuners used were made of wooden pegs, with a knob on one end. They also had a hole for string holding and fastening on the other end, that were inserted into a hole in a headstock at the end of the instrument neck. The string wrapped around the peg as the knob was turned and friction between the hole and the peg held it in place after tuning. Improvements followed with the invention of metal worm gear tuners that provided more precise adjustment and no peg slippage problems. Many other gearing configurations and enhancements followed worm gear tuners as discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,955,503A.
Most tuners are still mounted on a headstock at the end of the instrument neck, but more compact instruments have been developed that eliminated the headstock and moved the tuners to the other end of the strings somewhere on the body of the instrument. Conventional peg and worm gear tuners are difficult to fit onto the instrument body geometry.
Axial (or linear) pull tuners were invented to better fit the instrument body geometry as discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,708A. However, most available axial pull tuners are complex, some are large and limited in mounting options, and some have poor string clamping ability.
The peg and worm gear tuners are limited in pull direction to a single 360 degree plane that is perpendicular to the string attachment peg. Axial pull tuners in general are limited in pull direction to mostly in line with the tuner axis.
Thus, in the light of the above discussion there seems to be a need for an invention that provides an improvement over previous axial pull tuners and provides comparable performance with worm gear tuners.